The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a decorative molded article of which a body has a design surface decorated with a decorative design layer.
A method called in-mold labeling is one of the methods for manufacturing a decorative molded article of which a body has a design surface decorated with a decorative design layer. For example, refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2013-146956. This manufacturing method uses a mold, which includes a cavity mold and a core mold, and a film in which a decorative design layer is formed on a base film. The film is positioned and locked on the cavity mold while the mold is open. Vacuum suction causes the film to stick to the molding surface of the cavity mold. After that, the article body is molded by injecting molten plastic into the cavity, which is defined between the film and the core surface of the core mold while the mold is clamped. In the molding process, the decorative design layer of the film is transferred (adheres) to the design surface of the article body. As a result, the obtained decorative molded article includes the decorative design layer decorating the design surface of the article body.
In the manufacturing method disclosed in the patent document, the film locked on the cavity mold moves closer to the molding surface by being pressed toward the cavity mold prior to vacuum suction. Thus, compared to a case in which vacuum suction is started instantly without decreasing the space between the film and the molding surface, the film moves by a smaller amount when vacuum suction is applied. The location of the decorative design layer relative to the molding surface is not easily affected by fluctuation in the temperature distribution of the film and fluctuation in the air flow in the vacuum space formed between the film and the molding surface. As a result, the obtained decorative molded article includes the decorative design layer formed with great positional accuracy.
However, in the manufacturing method disclosed in the patent document, the film may move and be misaligned before sticking to the molding surface since vacuum suction is applied to the film, which has been moved closer to the molding surface.